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The Alberta Pulse Growers along with three local restaurants will be featuring pulse-based dishes from November 21-27 to celebrate Savouring Pulses week. Did you know that pulses such as beans, lentils and peas are all grown around the Lethbridge area? Now the question is, are the pulses we buy in grocery stores produced locally? Hmmm.. time to do some investigating! Pulses are a staple for many vegetarians and healthy eaters for many reasons:

Very high source of fibre

Free of fat and saturated fat

Free of sodium

Excellent source of folate.

Good sources of iron, thiamin, riboflavin and niacin

Gluten free

High fibre, low fat foods such as pulses are part of a healthy diet which may control blood cholesterol and blood sugars. Pulses may also help people feel full longer and help with managing weight

Pulses are the perfect meat alternative for vegetarian diets

To learn more about what’s being served in Lethbridge restaurants, click here (some are vegetarian friendly, and some not). Or, if you don’t feel like going out and want to try a pulse recipe at home, try my Veggie Lentil Pot Pie or check out the recipes on the Alberta Pulse Growers page!

Do you have any favorite pulse-based recipes? Have you ever grown any pulses, and if so, what are your favorites to store and use for the winter?

Like this:

I recently had a hankering for a good ‘ol pot pie. Something savoury, filling and hot; nothing like those salty, frozen, single-serve types- which I’m pretty sure don’t come vegetarian anyway.

I always thought you needed a pie crust to make one so I would shy away from the idea. But then I looked around for some recipes, and many just had a biscuit-type crust on the top. Voila, how easy could that be?! Basically, you just fry your fave veggies, add a protein (I used green lentils as I think they take on ‘poultry’ type seasonings well), make a gravy and top it with your biscuit dough and pop it in the oven! Coupled with a fresh salad, you’re good to go! I had some left over brown rice in the fridge, so I added some of that too.

Veggie Lentil Pot Pie

Preheat oven to 400F

Filling:
Fry over medium heat:

2 carrots, peeled & diced

1 onion, diced

2 ribs of celery, diced

When onions turn clear, add:

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1.5 c cooked green lentils (I used canned)

1/2c brown rice

Fry Lightly.
Then add:

1/4c flour

1/2 tsp of each dried rosemary, sage and thyme

salt & pepper

Fry lightly for 3 minutes.
Then add:

1c veggie broth

1.5c milk (I used almond)

Lower heat, stir and wait for your gravy to thicken. Once thickened, remove from heat and spoon into a pie dish.

Crust:

Combine:

1 3/4 c flour (I like to use a mix of white and whole wheat)

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Cut in (using a pastry blender or 2 knives):

4-6 Tbsp cold butter or margarine

Once the mixture is well combined and butter is the size of small peas, pour in:

1 c milk (again, I used almond)

and stir until combined.

Drop walnut sized pieces on top the filling in pie dish so that pie is almost entirely covered.

Place pie dish on a cookie sheet before putting in oven to prevent the filling possibly boiling over (I learned this one the hard way) and bake for 30-40 min until filling bubbles and dough is golden brown.